Like so many others, I received the email that Surface is available for pre-order. I went to the site to see what's, what. I've saved my money and have been waiting for a replacement for my Win 7 netbook. The minimum requirements I have though are.... a remote desktop client, MS Office, and the ability to remote into my employer's network.
http://surface.microsoftstore.com
First off, only the windows 8 RT (ARM) version is available (non-x86 apps). Windows 8 Pro is still "coming soon." So right off the bat, it's the first of the very first devices.
The "Touch cover" is available for $119 and the "Type cover" for $129. They're both screen cover/keyboards. The type cover is a mechanical keyboard intended to provide a "real" keyboard experience for those who need or want it. The touch cover is touch based, like a touch screen or track pad. Both have integrated track pads.
Windows 8 RT model
$499 for the 32GB.
$599 for the 32GB with *black* touch cover.
$699 for the 64GB with *black* touch cover.
Seems reasonably priced, and money is saved by purchasing a cover with the pre-order.
Comes with Office 2013 home/student preview which is nice, but the kicker is that the full home/student version of Office 2013 is free... that's a real selling point because I know that MS Office will not be a hack, or some half-assed, kinda-sorta product.
The Surface website is iffy on details. With some searching I've been able to find out that the Windows 8 RT version comes with an RDP client but not an RDP host. Only Windows 8 Pro comes with host. This means that I cannot remote into an RT tablet, but I CAN remote from it to another machine.
I had to call the sales line and ask if the device comes with a power plug. (The guy who answered was foreign.) Odd, I know, but one of the accessories being sold is a power plug, and there is no mention of what is "in the box." There IS a power plug with it, and the distinction could be that the accessory plug is the magnetic "snap" version. No way to know.
Next stop is to check VMware for a view client. Nothing downloadable on this workstation, but some search reveals that the MS StoreFront on Win 8 is supposed to have a Windows 8 RT VMware view client.
Delivery for pre-orders is by October 26th, 2012. That's a week and a half.
I think I'm ready to pull the plug. Maybe being an early adopter won't be so bad for me. I usually don't jump so soon.
Do you know for certain if there is a VMware client for RT? I haven't been able to find any confirmation of this and it is absolutely a requirement for me and my company.
ReplyDeleteThere is no VMWare View client at this time. I have looked from all angles and can't find one.
DeleteWhat I did see were some rumblings online about there being one in the works, beta or some such.